Of Draugrs and Thieves
by lkuecrar
Summary: Robin, who is Dragonborn and Thieve's Guild Master, and Karliah get overwhelmed in a tomb infested with draugr. Robin uses a spell that she shouldn't to save herself and Karliah. This near death experience will cause Brynjolf to evaluate his relationship with Robin and where they stand with each other! (Dragonborn, Brynjolf)


AN: I've been playing Skyrim again. So much time wasted. Anyways, this is my newest character, Robin. She's a Breton that specializes in magic and archery. Pretty much long range fighting. Close quarters combat is _**never**_ a good thing for her. This story is pretty much about what happens when she gets too close to her enemies. This scenario is actually based off of what happens to me when I play Skyrim without followers to use as meat shields. ;)

If you like this, don't forget to favorite/review! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Skyrim or the Elder Scrolls Series. Bethesda does; this was written for entertainment only, no profit was made.

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_I'll be damned if I ever step foot inside another one of these crypts! _I continued my inner monologue as I fired arrow after arrow into the innumerable draugr. Karliah was to my right fighting with all that she had, but both of us had figured out that we were in over our heads.

The job was simple. One of Delvin's contacts had tipped him off about a treasure that lay within the ruins of Forelhost. After the whole Mercer ordeal, money began flowing through the Ragged Flaggon once more. The increase of money and jobs left me, as the new Guild Master, with obscene amounts of paperwork and no time to take actual jobs. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to go into the ruins. The tombs of Skyrim are treacherous places, so I wouldn't feel comfortable sending anyone but myself into one of them. The scholar in me loved the ancient tombs that were scattered all over Skyrim as well, since they usually held texts containing their histories. The proximity of the ruins to Riften sealed the deal for me.

I was now completely regretting even taking the job. The crypt had been full of nothing but Draugr Deathlords and Death Overlords. All we found were potions and ruined books, nothing worth the trouble that were being bombarded with now. I was ripped out of my thoughts upon hearing the horrible shriek of a Dragon Priest. My eyes widened and my blood felt as if it had turned to ice. The creature slowly flew into the already crowded chamber. The undead creature released a thundering shout that sent Karliah and me hurling through the air. A scream ripped from my throat as I felt ribs crack upon impact with an ancient bookcase. Panic began to surge through me. _By the Gods, we're going to die. _

Karliah had already stood back up and continued hacking away at the army of undead, but it was futile. There were too many. "Karliah, run for it! There's too many! Just go! I'll… I'll be fine! I'll figure something out!"

I could feel the disbelief emanating from Karliah. "Are you insane?!" Slash. "What you're proposing is suicide!" Block. "I'm not leaving you, Robin!" Hack. "Are you so willing to give up everything we've worked for?!" Crash.

I could feel frustrated tears building in my eyes. "_Dammit Karliah, go! _I _cannot_ be responsible for your death!" I knew that Karliah would never leave me to the draugr, so I began racking my brain for anything. _Shouts are out of the question with my cracked ribs, so that isn't an option_. I screwed my eyes shut and delved into my minds, in hopes that I would find a miracle. I called back every lesson that I had ever learned during my time in the College of Winterhold. Master Tolfdir's smiling face popped up in my mind. _Paralyze spells are especially useful when you are overwhelmed, or when you don't want to injure your target. _

My eyes snapped open. _I… I don't know if I'll be able to cast a mass paralysis spell, but it's the only option we have. _Karliah's panicked panting gave me the strength that I needed to slowly push myself up the wall. I cast a healing spell to numb the pain once I was standing, and then a Circle of Protection to keep the draugr at bay while I completed the ritual spell. I began the motions needed to complete the ritual, all the while cursing at the slow speed of ritual spells.

I'm no Master in the school of Alteration. Destruction and Illusion magic was where my focus was during my time at the College. One of the first rules at the College was to never attempt more than you could handle, because bad things _would _happen. I cringed as I felt blood begin to drip from my nose, but I pushed on anyways.

Thankful that Karliah had kept the draugr away from me long enough to charge the spell, I finally released. All of the draugr in the burial chamber collapsed instantly, as well as the Dragon Priest. My pulse was pounding in my ears, and I could faintly hear Karliah calling my name. I didn't get to celebrate my extraordinary feat, though, as the ground rushed up to meet me. _Please let me pass out before my face smashes into the ground. _The last thing I remember is falling onto something softer than the ground. _Thank the Gods for Karliah._

* * *

The first thing I noticed upon waking up was that I was in my bedroom in Riften. _Karliah must have brought me here; I'm glad we took horses to that crypt or we would probably be in the middle of the forest right now. _There was faint light coming through my bedroom window causing my eyes to widen as I realized how late it was. _How long have I been out? _

My thoughts were interrupted by a shuffling sound coming from the entrance room of my house. I was immediately on red alert and attempted to ready a fireball in both hands. I was rewarded with a splitting pain in my skull when I tried to tap into my magicka reserve, causing me to let out a pained whine. The shuffling stopped immediately, but I wasn't worried. _Please let there be an assassin in my living room; maybe he will put me out of my misery!_

My heart began to pound as light footsteps padded towards my bedroom door. For the first time in my life, I couldn't protect myself with magicka. I could do little more than lay in my bed as a sitting target. The pain in my ribs completely removed me of any chances of evasive maneuvers as well.

I held my breath as the handle of the door turned. A familiar smooth voice called out. "Lass? Are you awake?"

I let out a slightly hysterical laugh before groaning in pain from my ribs. _Delphine would be proud; I'm just as paranoid as she is! _Taking my various sounds of pain as an affirmative, the red-haired Nord entered my bedroom and sat down at the chair that had been pulled up to my bedside previously. "It's good to see you awake. You gave all of us quite the scare, lass. Karliah has been tending to you for the past week, day and night. I finally convinced her to get some rest a few hours ago."

My jaw dropped. "T-the past w-week? How… Why was I out for so long?" My voice was raspy from disuse, causing me to wince at the gravelly sound.

A dark look quickly passed over Brynjolf's face before being replaced with a placating one. "Karliah told us what happened. She said you used a spell that you shouldn't have attempted to use." There was fire lurking underneath his quiet words. "Karliah decided to research what happens when someone uses that much magicka at once. Needless to say, we were a bit panicked when we learned that it would almost certainly cause brain damage. I repeat, what in Nocturnal's name were you thinking?" By the time he had finished, Brynjolf's voice was quivering with rage.

My eyes widened and I immediately looked down at my hands that were playing with the hem of the sheet that was draped over me. _I don't think I've ever seen him this angry. Not even when he learned of Mercer's betrayal. _"Brynjolf," I looked back up into his angry eyes. "I knew the risk that I was taking. I'm not going to lie to you. You have to understand, though—there is no doubt that we would be _dead_ now if I wouldn't have used that spell. I dragged Karliah into that crypt with me, and by the Gods, I wasn't going to be responsible for her death! Even… even if it meant that I killed myself in the process."

By the time I finished my rant, I was panting. My energy was fading quickly and I could feel my eyes drooping rapidly. I heard Brynjolf let out a harsh sigh. "Go to sleep, lass. You need to rest. We can talk about this later. Goodnight."

I tried to reply, but only a garbled mumble came out before I succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

A month had passed since "the Incident", as the Guild members had taken to calling it. With my constant use of magicka replenishing potions and healing spells, I was as good as new in two weeks. The only indication of my recent injuries is the stiffness that lingered from the freshly healed bones.

I had spent most of my time in my office at my house, doing paperwork, in order to avoid Brynjolf. Avoiding him paid off, as I finally caught up on the work that I had been pushing aside for the past month during my recuperation. I knew it was just a matter of days, though, before Brynjolf came to finish our conversation. I sighed as I thought about the sure-to-be explosive confrontation, and wished that I could prevent it from ever happening.

The way that Brynjolf looked at me that night, with pure anger, had been in the forefront of my mind all month. I like to think of myself as a relatively clever person; I knew that Brynjolf at least cares for me a great deal. The thought scares and excites me, though. The Nord had quickly become my best friend when I first came to Riften. I would be lying to myself if I hadn't ever thought of being more than his friend. A blush painted my face as that line of thinking went down a less lady-like path.

I decided that some fresh air would help clear my head, so I rose and walked out onto the balcony that overlooked Lake Honrich. I froze when I saw Brynjolf leaning on the railing looking out over the look. My mouth ran dry and my heart began thundering. I began to wonder if I could sneak back into my house without him noticing me, but knew that it was futile. _The man taught me _everything_ I know about stealth; I can't hide from him of all people!_

I was pulled from my inner debate when I heard Brynjolf speak. "Lass, I think we need to settle some things." I cringed. _Leave it to Brynjolf to cut to the chase immediately._

I let out a shaky sigh before walking next to Brynjolf and settling on the rail beside him. "What do we need to settle? We're just peachy, aren't we?"

Brynjolf just looked at me with a withering glare. My face flamed at the joke that fell flat. "Okay, so no joking. Got it. I don't really know where to even start. You're the one who came here, I think you should start."

The Nord took a swig of the mead that he had balanced on the rail in front of him. "I—I'm just going to come out and say this. You're little stunt in that tomb scared me witless. You could have died, and it's gotten me thinking about things. I have two things I need you to agree to. The first: if you _ever_ go into another one of those ruins alone, I have the permission to find you and kill you myself before the draugr can even get to you, lass."

I glanced over to Brynjolf, who hadn't taken his eyes off of the lake in front of him, before swallowing thickly. "I don't think I'll be going into another of those ruins again for a while, but okay. What—what was the second thing?"

Brynjolf brought the bottle of mead back up to his lips before speaking again. "The second? Marry me."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. A thousand thoughts were flying through my mind, but I could only manage to stutter out one pitiful sentence. "M-Marry you? Brynjolf are you serious?"

The thief turned towards me with that fire burning behind his eyes again. "We've been dancing around each other since you got here a year ago. I'm tired of it. I almost lost you, again, and I still hadn't gotten the guts to confess to you. I'm in love with you, lass. You're it for me."

I made a split second decision, for once in my life, and threw myself into his arms. Brynjolf was surprised at my sudden blitz and was thrown off balance; we both fell to the wooden porch underneath us. "I'll do it! You're my best friend—it's only logical that we take this next step."

Brynjolf looked shocked. "You—you're actually agreeing? Since when are you ever this compliant?"

I mock glared at the man underneath me. "Oh shut up. Let's go get married. Right now. I want to see how long it takes anyone to realize what's happened. Let's make a bet. I bet one hundred Septims that they don't for at least a month."

A mischievous look was on Brynjolf's face. "I accept your bet, but lass, you shouldn't bet against me. I _always _win. I bet two hundred Septims that they notice within two weeks."

I leaned my face down close to Brynjolf's ear and whispered. "You're on, Bryn." With that, I hopped up from my place on the ground and headed towards the front door of my house. I stopped and turned around to look at the dazed man that I had just agreed to marry. "Well, are you coming or not? I kind of need your presence to get married to you."

Brynjolf snapped out of his trance and hopped up to follow me. "That was a dirty trick, lass. I hope you don't do that to every man you meet."

I let out a hearty laugh, and continued walking towards the temple without looking back. I could hear Brynjolf jogging to catch up with me, but I didn't slow down. "Wait. You don't _actually_ do that, often, do you?"

I turned my head to look at the Nord that finally caught up with me. I spoke before running ahead and leaving a worried Brynjolf behind. "You'll just have to find out, won't you?"

I could hear him calling out behind me. "Lass! Wait up! You _were _joking, weren't you?"

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AN: Wow. That ending sucked hard. I couldn't figure out how to wrap it up. Sorry. I actually liked the rest of it though.

Don't forget to read/review! Thanks!


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